Amit Shah in Lok Sabha: J&K Bills will give justice to those deprived of rights

Union Home Minister Amit Shah today spoke on the proposed Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 & The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2023, at the floor of the Lok Sabha. 

Speaking at the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Shah said that the two Bills will give justice to those who have been deprived of rights and have been ignored. 

Shah said, "The Bill that I have brought here pertains to bringing justice to and providing rights to those against whom injustice was done, who were insulted and those who were ignored. In any society, those who are deprived should be brought forward. That is the basic sense of the Constitution of India. But they have to be brought forward in a way that doesn't reduce their respect. There is a huge difference between giving rights and giving rights respectfully. So, instead of weak and deprived category renaming it to Other Backward Class is important."

"This can be seen by only those who want to bring them forward considering them like their brothers. Those who use it as vote bank for their own political benefit. Narendra Modi is a leader who was born into a poor family and became the Prime Minister of the country today. He knows the pain of the poor," he added.

Amit Shah also said that one seat in Jammu and Kashmir assembly will be reserved for people displaced from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

He further said, "One of 2 bills on Jammu and Kashmir seeks to nominate two Kashmiri Migrant community members, including a woman, to assembly."

In a dig at the Congress, Amit Shah said that there was an era of terrorism after the 1980s in Jammu and Kashmir and those "responsible for stopping it were enjoying vacations in England". 

He added, "When Kashmiri Pandits were displaced, they were forced to live as refugees in their country. According to the present data around 46,631 families and 1,57,968 people were displaced in their own country. This Bill is to get them rights, this Bill is to give them representation."

The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act outlines provisions for reserving positions in state government roles and admissions to professional institutions for specific reserved categories. Additionally, the legislation introduces reservation in professional institutions for economically weaker sections.

In 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act facilitated the restructuring of the state into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The Act amends the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly's composition, increasing the total seats from 83 to 90. Furthermore, it designates seven seats for Scheduled Castes and nine seats for Scheduled Tribes.